Chapter 254: The Pusher of the Era (23)

The announcement for recruiting apprentices to the Danyuan Secret Realm spread through the entire Medical Bureau with lightning speed.

Neither the imperial family nor the various nobles had expected Hua Changxi's conditions for recruiting apprentices to be so simple, nor had they anticipated that the benefits and treatment she offered her apprentices would be so generous.

Once again, Hua Changxi had surpassed everyone's expectations.

"Does this Hua Changxi understand management at all?"

The minds of the various Secret Realm Masters had already been shaken by the oath stele Hua Changxi erected; now, seeing her recruitment announcement, their composure was shattered once more.

"The Hua family is merely a small household; Hua Changxi has likely never managed a shop on her own. How could she understand management?"

"Indeed. Had she ever managed even a single shop, she would know the importance of strictly controlling expenditure costs."

The resources Hua Changxi invested in her apprentices were far too generous; compared to her, these Secret Realm Masters appeared exceedingly stingy.

People fear comparison. Given time, those who joined their secret realms would surely grow dissatisfied.

This Hua Changxi truly seemed determined to oppose them at every turn.

The imperial family and the nobility were also rendered extremely passive by Hua Changxi's recruitment announcement.

They had just issued orders to boycott Hua Changxi's recruitment, and immediately afterward, she pulled a stunt like this.

At this moment, Prince Fu and Prince Shou could no longer smile; ordering a boycott of Hua Changxi's recruitment was not a command issued lightly in a fit of anger.

They had acted thus for two reasons: first, Hua Changxi had infringed upon the interests of the Secret Realm Masters and the nobility, ensuring active support from all quarters.

Second, the requirement to swear an oath against heart demons to enter or exit the secret realm caused hesitation for the vast majority of cultivators wishing to enter.

According to their speculation, Hua Changxi's recruitment conditions would be extremely harsh, preventing most people from entering the secret realm.

"If I cannot enter the secret realm, neither should anyone else." By merely provoking this psychology among the cultivators, their plan to boycott Hua Changxi's recruitment would proceed with great ease.

Yet who could have expected Hua Changxi to act completely contrary to their predictions, offering apprentice benefits far beyond their expectations, truly catching them off guard.

Without even needing to send spies to investigate, they could imagine that even with the requirement to swear an oath against heart demons, countless cultivators would now wish to join Hua Changxi's Danyuan Secret Realm.

Watching the gloomy expressions of Prince Fu and Prince Shou, Chu Junhao hesitated a moment before approaching: "Uncle Fu, Uncle Shou, perhaps we should withdraw the order?"

Upon hearing these words, Prince Shou's icy gaze shot toward Chu Junhao: "Xiao Qi, do you know what you are saying?"

Under Prince Shou's stare, Chu Junhao felt his scalp go numb; he opened his mouth but could utter no word.

Prince Shou snorted coldly: "Since the resurgence of spiritual energy, the power of the capital's nobility and local magnates has continuously grown, showing increasing disregard for imperial commands."

"In recent years, your father and the elders of the imperial clan have exhausted every method to stabilize the general situation, preventing others from acting rashly."

"Now, you actually suggest we retract the order boycotting Hua Changxi. Do you know what this signifies?"

"It signifies that the imperial family has bowed to a little girl! It signifies that in the future, anyone can ride roughshod over the imperial family!"

The more Prince Shou spoke, the angrier he became; by the end, he was practically shouting.

Struck by these words, Chu Junhao dropped to his knees with a thud: "Uncle Shou, Junhao has underestimated the matter. Please punish me."

Seeing Prince Shou deeply angered, Prince Fu did not ask Chu Junhao to rise: "Once an imperial order is issued, it cannot be altered." With a wave of his hand, he summoned the Bureau Director of the Medical Bureau.

"Go, and dismantle the registration site Hua Changxi established at the entrance of the Medical Bureau for this Prince."

"The Medical Bureau is a department of the court; without the court's consent, no one is permitted to recruit at its entrance!"

He paused.

"Furthermore, issue instructions for everyone to guard their tongues; try to prevent the announcement of Hua Changxi's apprentice recruitment from spreading beyond the Medical Bureau."

Although they could not stop well-informed factions from obtaining the content of the announcement, preventing ordinary people from learning the news would suffice.

As for the others within the Medical Bureau, they were either affiliated with the imperial family or the nobility; surely none would dare openly oppose the imperial family.

Upon receiving Prince Fu's order, the Bureau Director of the Medical Bureau personally led a team to the main entrance, watching with his own eyes as his subordinates dismantled the registration site arranged by Physician Xu and the others, smashing the recruitment wooden signs.

Simultaneously, the Bureau Director severely warned Physician Xu and the others.

"Without the court's consent, who authorized you to recruit at the main entrance?"

"Scram back to Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen for this official; if you offend again, leave the Medical Bureau immediately."

Watching Physician Xu and the others depart in disgrace, cultivators from the Dao-Protecting Families watched with amusement, while the capital's nobility went with the flow.

They knew this was the imperial family coercing Hua Changxi; if she wished to recruit apprentices, she would have to remove the oath stele.

The various factions were fixated on the Danyuan Secret Realm to use its resources for cultivating their own forces, not to freely gift their personnel to the Dansheng Hall.

Those at the top each harbored their own secret schemes, while the ordinary cultivators within the Medical Bureau, upon learning that Prince Shou had ordered them not to join the Danyuan Secret Realm, could not hide the disappointment on their faces.

Yet they dared not step forward to resist, remaining silently mute.

Hua Changxi did not know that immediately after erecting the oath stele and issuing the recruitment announcement, she had encountered joint resistance from the imperial family and all other factions.

However, even if she had known, she would not have cared too much.

Her main force for recruiting apprentices was never intended to be in the capital; while the imperial family and nobility could prevent some from joining the Danyuan Secret Realm, they could not stop the countless people of the world.

After handing the recruitment announcement to Physician Xu, Hua Changxi left the Medical Bureau.

At this moment, she was inside the Shennong Hall pharmacy in Feng'an Ward, arranging a teleportation array.

Once the teleportation array was arranged, she immediately tested its effect; activating the formation, she teleported to the fourth layer of the Danyuan Secret Realm in the blink of an eye.

Then, she teleported back from the fourth layer of the Danyuan Secret Realm to the Shennong Hall Secret Realm.

Instant transmission, instant return!

Highly satisfied with the effect of the teleportation array, Hua Changxi lost no time leaving the capital, heading straight for the Lingguang Hall; after arranging a teleportation array there, she proceeded to Mount Wuzhi.

She enthusiastically arranged the teleportation arrays, completely unaware of the turbulent winds brewing in the capital.

At the Dingyuan Count's Manor.

Count Hua had summoned the clan elders and outstanding juniors of the Hua clan to the manor to convene a clan leader meeting.

At this moment, the expressions of the Hua clansmen were quite remarkable.

Thinking that the Dan Ding Altar had appeared in the world solely due to Hua Changxi, the Hua clansmen were overjoyed; this meant that upon the resurgence of the Dansheng Hall, Hua Changxi's status would absolutely not be low.

The Dansheng Hall was one of the Five Sacred Lands of the Four Spirit Realms, holding a lofty status; for the Hua clan to occupy a position within the Dansheng Hall and possess a certain degree of influence was undoubtedly a tremendous opportunity for the Hua family.

However, thinking that Hua Changxi had offended various nobles due to the oath stele she erected and the recruitment announcement she issued, the Hua clan elders could not help but sigh.

Marquis Hua looked at Hua Bin's silent family, his expression somewhat complicated.

He never expected that Hua Bin, who had grown up eating the Hundred Families' Rice, would become the clansman with the greatest fortune after the Qi Resurgence.

Thinking of the twin sisters Hua Changxin and Hua Changxi, he could not help but feel envious of Hua Bin.

For other families, producing a single talented descendant was already a stroke of immense luck; yet Hua Bin had miraculously produced two extraordinary granddaughters at once.

Hua Changxin was a direct disciple of the Taisu Palace Sect Master; many details regarding her were beyond their reach, so there was no need to discuss them yet.

But Hua Changxi had always remained in Jingcheng; her actions and deeds were still quite easy to investigate.

This girl's current prominence in the Medical Bureau had even overshadowed Meng Qingyao, who had been recommended by the Dao-Protecting Clans, and she had achieved this entirely through her own power, which was truly astonishing.

For a clan to produce such an extraordinary descendant was undoubtedly a blessing and opportunity for the Hua family, a sign of its prosperity and flourishing.

Yet who could have imagined that this fellow Hua Bin would fail to win over even his own granddaughters?

Though they were close blood relatives, their relationship was so distant that it left him utterly speechless.

Now the situation was such that Hua Changxi felt no closeness to her clansmen; although she held abundant resources in her hands, the clansmen could not share in even a sliver of the benefits.

What gave Marquis Hua the most headache was that Hua Changxi's nature was far too headstrong and she was far too capable of drawing hatred.

The entanglement of interests between the Imperial House and the various nobles was incredibly complex; in truth, it was very difficult to unite them to jointly oppose some matter or some person. Even certain rising powerful families had failed to make them unite, yet Hua Changxi had managed to forge them into a united front; truly, there was no one else like her.

She alone was equivalent to an entire clan!

Having gained no benefits, they might even incur trouble because of Hua Changxi; Marquis Hua now did not know whether he should rejoice or worry.

Seeing that Marquis Hua and the others remained silent, Hua Minghe could not help but speak up: "Marquis, Ninth Lady's secret realm requires manpower; if the clansmen can support her at this time, she will surely repay the clan in the future."

Marquis Hua had not concealed the matter of the Imperial House and the nobles opposing Hua Changxi; upon learning of it, he had immediately informed the clansmen.

Hua Minghe knew his daughter was being coerced by the nobles acting in concert, and his heart was filled with anxiety.

Since Ninth Lady was not close to her family and even disregarded her clansmen, he also wished to use this incident to let his daughter know that her family and clansmen were the backing behind her.

The Second Elder snorted coldly: "The Imperial House has already issued an order forbidding anyone from joining the Danyuan Secret Realm; if the clan acts at this time, it would be a direct declaration of opposition to the Imperial House."

"Even a top-tier family like the Tang clan dares not tear open relations with the Imperial House; can our Hua clan withstand the Imperial House's wrath?"

Hearing these words, Hua Minghe fell silent.

Marquis Hua glanced at the First Elder.

Receiving the signal, the First Elder smiled and said: "We lack the ability to resist opposing the Imperial House; yet Changxi is, after all, a junior of our clan, and we cannot refuse to help her. Perhaps we should first observe the situation and see if we can devise a solution that satisfies both sides?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Bin immediately stated his position: "The First Elder speaks rightly; there is no rush regarding my Ninth Lady's affairs. The secret realm will remain there indefinitely; even if we cannot recruit people for a short while, it matters not."

Hua Minghe glanced at Old Master Hua; he knew the old master feared the clansmen would be implicated by Ninth Lady, yet since Ninth Lady was not close to the clansmen, if they did not demonstrate their stance at this critical moment, it would only become harder for Ninth Lady to accept the clansmen in the future.

He still understood Ninth Lady's nature well; for those who had helped her, she would never be stingy.

Hua Minghe wished to say more, but Old Master Hua firmly pressed him down.

Marquis Hua looked at Hua Minghe and Hua Bin, then spoke: "The situation in Jingcheng is changing rapidly; let us not rush to make a decision."

Turning to Hua Minghe, he continued: "Minghe, you may go ask Changxi first to see if she has any thoughts regarding the clan."

"In these past two years, the strength of the great noble families has been increasing, yet our clan remains treading water; without strength, we must exercise extra caution when encountering major events. You must make these circumstances clear to Changxi."

"Regardless of anything else, the Hua clan is the mountain backing Changxi; for anything the clan can support her with, we will absolutely not neglect it."

Upon hearing this, Hua Minghe's eyes flashed.

He knew that Ninth Lady, in recruiting apprentices, treated Hua clansmen and outsiders equally, which had dissatisfied the clan; the clansmen desired preferential treatment within the Danyuan Secret Realm.

The Marquis was hinting at him: if Ninth Lady did not first demonstrate sincerity, the clan would likely not arrange for anyone to join the Danyuan Secret Realm.